got the 50/50 and...

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joedarat

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
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173
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i picked up a 20W 24" coralife 50/50 bulb for my 37 gal. i paid $10 more than if i would have ordered it online.. i just wanted it! anyway.. im disappointed, it's not as "color enhancing" as I thought it would be , and I think that the main reason for that is: 20W - 37 gal - just not enough juice... I would imagine it being a bit better on a 29gal ... also, I have peat tanning the water , so the yellowish water + the hint of blue from the bulb = makes the tank green! ha! oh well I guess I'll try to bring it back. or maybe someone wants it???
 
Sorry to tell Ya joedarat but that isnt enough watts to make anything enhanced in a 37 Gallon. Try to take it back. If they dont accept it then trty to sell in on Craigslist.com or Ebay.
 
I hope I don't run into the same problem. Two 15 watt 18" 50/50's in a 55g setup. At a minimum, it will be some improvement, so I will keep them, but I hope its noticable. CRI and lumens are going way up from the stock bulbs I have now.
 
One of those 50's is for 50% actinic. The actinic is crap for freshwater. It will make your algae grow and do little else.
 
Apocalypse_Gold said:
One of those 50's is for 50% actinic. The actinic is crap for freshwater. It will make your algae grow and do little else.

I've heard from several sources that it really makes the fishes' colors come out.
 
50/50's make the color of fish really standout. Salties use them for corals and inverts along with Actinic's. In fact, yesterday I just placed an order for a new light strip, 2 50/50's and 1 Actinic. You just need to have the right wattage. I am going from 40 Watts to 120. Considerable difference. I don't mind a little algae if the color of my fish really stand out.
 
only way I can get more watts is if I get a new strip.. dunno , maybe I'll wait on upgrading until it's time for the BIG tank .. coming sometime in the future
 
Antinic causing algae I think is more of a rumor than fact at this point.. low light causes algae so I think that the fact that antinic lights doesnt count in you wpg calculations if you have it and enough useable light it is most likely not going to cause algae.. :mrgreen:
 
thats less than 1wpg to be honest you were better off staying with NO lights.. as for green, it most likely is algae, i thought the same thing when I first received my two 65w fixtures...
 
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